Giraffe calf being treated for medical issues returns to Franklin Park Zoo
A female giraffe calf born on July 24 has returned to the Franklin Park Zoo in Boston after being treated for medical issues, zoo officials said in a statement. The newborn Masai giraffe will be bottle fed and raised by zoo staff.The giraffe was being treated at the Hospital for Large Animals at Cummins Veterinary Medical Center at Tufts University in Grafton, after not being able to nurse from her mother, Jana, and having difficulty standing when she was born, according to the statement.“We are very encouraged by the calf’s progress and are glad she is back home,” Dr. Eric Baitchman, director of Animal Health and Conservation Medicine at Zoo New England, said in the statement. “Even though she continues to require supportive veterinary care for a touch of pneumonia and time to improve her physical coordination, we are optimistic for a good prognosis.”
A member of staff bottle feeding the female giraffe calf.
The giraffe will receive constant care and be bottle fed until she is weaned at six to eight months. Although she is not be in the same stall as her mother, she can see, hear, and sniff her, zoo officials said.
“She captures your heart the moment you see her and she will be a powerful ambassador for her kind in the wild,” John Linehan, president and CEO of Zoo New England, said. “With few people noticing, giraffe populations in the wild have plummeted by a frightening 40 percent in just the past 15 years.”
Zoo New England also invited the public to help choose a name for the calf. In a survey, the Franklin Park Zoo said staff had chosen two options “with special meaning”: Asha, a word of Sanskrit origin meaning “hope,” and Amari, a word of Yoruban origin meaning “strength.” To vote, go here.
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